


As Luck Would Have It...

by roe87



Series: Steve/Bucky modern au's [32]
Category: Captain America (Comics), Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Awkward Flirting, Bearded Steve Rogers, Bottom Bucky Barnes, Casual Sex, Comedy, Dramatic Bucky Barnes, First Meetings, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gay Bucky Barnes, Gay Steve Rogers, Happy Ending, Hook-Up, Hopeful Ending, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Meet-Cute, Mild Smut, Neighbors, Nerd Bucky Barnes, Nomad Steve Rogers, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Romantic Comedy, Sassy Bucky Barnes, Strangers to Lovers, Thirsty Bucky Barnes, Top Steve Rogers, Twunk Bucky Barnes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-22 15:47:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30041013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roe87/pseuds/roe87
Summary: Bucky, a general Disaster Gay, is moving into his new apartment and shit keeps going wrong.He happens to meet a handsome (very handsome) neighbor named Steve who offers to help, and Bucky has an instant crush.(just a little 'Oh, we're neighbors!' meet cute)
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Series: Steve/Bucky modern au's [32]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1350943
Comments: 27
Kudos: 190





	As Luck Would Have It...

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I'm re-posting this with major editing. I hope you like it.
> 
> This is pure nonsense, don't @ me. Lol
> 
> ~ ~

Bucky woke up on Thursday morning feeling joyful and excited.

Today was moving day, and Bucky couldn't wait to move into his new apartment in Brooklyn. He'd waited all his adult life to finally get his own place, and today was the day. He was overjoyed, thrilled, positively ecstatic.

That was, until shit kept going wrong.

After Bucky got his keys from the building's Super and stood in his brand new apartment basking in its glory, he got a call from the removal van he'd ordered to say they couldn't pick up his stuff today after all.

Bucky just had the worst luck sometimes.

He rang a few numbers off of Google in a panic, trying to find a last minute van, but to no avail. Cursing and muttering to himself, Bucky left his new apartment and took a cab back to his old apartment.

He didn't have a huge amount of things: some boxes of books, belongings, and a few bin-bags and suitcases full of his clothes. He wasn't taking any of the furniture. Bucky's new apartment was partially furnished, and he'd never owned furniture before so there wasn't anything huge or too heavy to take.

Surely he could stuff his meagre belongings into one Uber ride? He ordered one large Uber car, and took all his bags and boxes downstairs one at a time.

Then he waited.

When his car arrived, Bucky started loading up the trunk and the backseat, and much to his horror he discovered he could _not_ stuff all his belongings into one Uber.

There was still one suitcase and a whole bunch of bin bags sitting on the pavement, so Bucky had to flag down a passing cab to take the surplus items.

Luckily, two cars took all his stuff, and they drove to his new apartment in a convoy. Bucky's heart was fluttering away from rising stress at this point, and he had to get back into his new apartment soon to await his furniture deliveries.

When they got there, the drivers helped him unload the bags and boxes onto his building's front steps, then they left. Bucky couldn't begrudge them, they weren't removal guys and he didn't have any spare cash left to tip them extra for carrying shit.

With all his new expenses, Bucky would be living pretty leanly for the next few months at least. No tipping to anyone.

So, there was nothing else for it: Bucky had to suck it up and move his shit himself.

"Oh, God, why," he sighed. "I'm too gay for this manual labour."

Sadly nobody was about to hear him, so he'd have to manage on his own. Yay, adulting.

All these bags and boxes and cases. This situation would've been a perfect reason to have built up his muscles and stamina at the gym, he thought, as he grabbed a box and carried it to the building's front door.

But the thing was, Bucky wasn't a gym gay, he was more a sit at home while sipping a glass of wine gay. So there was no gym membership, no refined muscles or stamina. Moving one box was about his limit, as far as lifting and carrying was concerned.

There was still plenty of his crap left to ferry into the lobby, so he went back and picked up another box. And after that, some heavy binbags of clothes. Soon Bucky was working up a sweat and panting as he moved his bags across the shiny, tiled floor.

The Super was nowhere to be seen, neither was anyone else, which was just his luck. Hopefully Bucky wouldn't give himself a heart attack or a hernia doing all this heavy lifting.

Once all his bags and cases were safely inside the building, Bucky shoved his belongings one by one toward the elevator. Hopefully he'd be able to make just the one trip up.

He propped the elevator doors open with a box while he pushed and dragged everything inside the elevator. There wasn't enough floor space so Bucky had to stack some bags on top of the boxes, but at least it all fit inside.

"Yes, yes," he muttered, squeezing himself in and moving the prop away from the door. He had to strain to reach the buttons, pressing the button for his floor.

The elevator doors didn't close.

"Why aren't you moving," Bucky murmured, looking around for something that was wrong.

The light up sign on the wall said maximum load had been reached.

Bucky clicked his tongue. What bullshit was this? His stuff wasn't that heavy. He pressed the button for his floor several times, but the elevator wouldn't budge.

"Aw, come on," he complained, wiping the sweat from his brow.

The elevator refused to heed him.

Bucky sighed in defeat.

Well, he'd have to make two trips like the two cabs. No biggie. First he had to extract himself from the elevator, squeezing out past his stuff.

How did he have so many clothes anyway? It was tempting to leave some of them behind because he was getting pissed now, but he couldn't afford to buy a new wardrobe either.

Bucky wondered how nice his new building really was, and if he left any of his stuff behind would it still be there when he got back. He'd have to make some executive decisions right now.

"Um," he said, hands on hips as he looked at the elevator crammed full of shit, and decided which of his bags to leave behind.

Luckily, Bucky had been _slightly_ organised today and made sure his most important shit like his laptop and essential paperwork were already safely in his new apartment.

So all he had to choose between now was his clothes, books, and random junk that surely no one else would want. (Or, well, maybe they would, who could say. He did have some nice shirts plus a rather collectible Barbie and Ken doll set in their original boxes somewhere.)

Bucky got to it and dragged out one bag at a time, checking the sign to see if the load was acceptable to the elevator yet.

The light was still on, so he pulled out a couple more. "Goddamn elevator," he grumbled, pushing out a large box.

Finally the light went off, which meant the load could travel. Bucky got inside and pressed the button for his floor. He closed his eyes as the elevator went up, and prayed that his stuff would still be there when he got back. It was a weekday morning and the building had seemed quiet so far. Bucky hadn't seen anyone except the Super earlier.

He'd just have to hope for the best.

When he got up to his floor, the elevator door slid open and Bucky started in alarm to see a man there waiting to get on.

And not _just_ a guy either, but a total hunk. A tall and stacked Adonis that looked like he'd stepped off the menswear section from the fall fashions catalogue. He was all ruggedly handsome in jeans and a bomber jacket, with a neat beard and elegantly styled dark blond hair.

Bucky couldn't get a read on him if he was a straight man or not, and was so caught off guard he didn't know how to react right now.

The man glanced down at all Bucky's bags filling up the floor of the elevator, then he looked at Bucky with one eyebrow quirked.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry," Bucky blurted out, presuming the guy would be annoyed at him for blocking up the elevator. "It's moving day, and it's been a disaster."

The last thing Bucky needed was some guy standing over him or getting mad while he had to unload his shit from the elevator.

To Bucky's surprise, the man merely said, "Need a hand?"

"Uh," Bucky said, staring back at him. The guy looked to be maybe in his thirties, same as Bucky, though it was kind of hard to tell with the beard.

"Um, yeah?" he answered, hoping he didn't sound as breathless as he felt. "I actually have some more stuff downstairs, so I gotta run down and get that."

"You on this floor?" the man asked, bending down to grab a couple of cases and remove them from the elevator.

"Yes," Bucky answered, suddenly unsure about giving away his apartment number to a stranger. Hello, anxiety.

The helpful stranger worked quickly, picking up bag after bag like they weighed nothing and setting them in the hallway. Bucky watched, part stunned, but mostly relieved.

"How much more is downstairs?" he asked, stepping into the elevator with Bucky. He had a cologne on, something subtle yet nice smelling.

"Um," Bucky said, mildly distracted for a moment. "Just a few more bags. The elevator was at max load."

"Alright," the stranger said, and gestured for Bucky to exit the elevator, which he did. "Wait here, I'll go get your stuff." He pressed the button for the ground floor, and the doors slid closed.

Bucky was left staring after him, totally surprised. Huh, he thought.

It was nice of a stranger to help him out. Then again, was this one of his new neighbors? If so, they probably thought Bucky was a total moron.

Bucky exhaled in a puff and shook his head. Well, it was done now. Helpful stranger slash neighbor was apparently getting the rest of Bucky's shit, which meant Bucky didn't have to.

Small mercies.

"Okay," Bucky murmured to himself, and looked down the hallway. His apartment was right at the end.

He could try to get his bags down there a couple at a time, have it all done before the stranger came back. Bucky glanced down at all the bags, and felt himself sag with weariness. He was so tired. He'd been up early and packing things, and he didn't have the energy to rush about now.

The elevator came back up and the doors pinged open.

Bucky watched curiously as the man returned, bringing Bucky's belongings out of the elevator one by one. He set each bag onto the floor with care, then looked at Bucky. He had very blue eyes, Bucky noticed.

"You want a hand taking these to your apartment?" the man asked.

_Yes_ , Bucky wanted to wail, but managed to keep a hold of himself. "Um, well, it's all the way down the end of the hall," he explained, unsure how far the kind man was willing to go.

The man simply said, "Okay." Then he picked up one big box and strolled off like it was no trouble.

Bucky grabbed a bin bag of clothes and hurried after him. "6C," he huffed, directing him where to go.

He nodded, and set the box down in front of Bucky's door.

Bucky dropped his bag too and got out his keys. "I, um, I was supposed to have removal guys, but they bailed. Today has been an unprecedented disaster." He unlocked his door and pushed it open.

"Well, these things happen," the nice man said calmly. "I'll go get the rest." He shrugged out of bomber jacket, exposing a very ripped upper body in a tight white tee. "Can you hang onto this a sec?"

He held out the jacket to Bucky, and Bucky blindly reached for it.

"Sure," Bucky said, as the nice man gave him a lopsided grin, then headed back down the hall.

"Wow," Bucky mouthed silently to himself, holding the jacket. _And that's how we got engaged_ , he thought, feeling wildly jealous of whichever lucky person had a nice man like this to call their own.

Like, seriously? Handsome _and_ chivalrous? Men like this didn't often cross Bucky's path.

"Act normal," Bucky whispered to himself, and set the jacket on top of a suitcase.

He took a fortifying breath and began to move his bags into the apartment. He had to put on a show of effort for the other man, so he wouldn't think Bucky was totally useless.

The nice man dropped off more bags for Bucky, and in two short trips had managed to successfully get all of Bucky's things to his apartment door. Bucky was so relieved, and thanked him for his help.

"No sweat," he replied (which was easy for him to say, Bucky thought). The man hooked his jacket casually over his shoulder. "I'm Steve, by the way."

He offered out his hand, and Bucky stared at it stupidly for a second before he remembered his manners and shook it.

"Bucky," he replied. "And, really, thank you. I, um, I'd offer you a drink but I don't even have any groceries yet."

Steve gave him another grin. "Don't worry about it. I was headed out to meet a friend. I'm in 6A, by the way."

"Oh!" Bucky glanced down the hall. "So, we're neighbors."

"Yup." Steve nodded. "Just knock if you need anything, kid."

"Uh, right." Bucky said, while thinking indignantly, _who's he calling a kid?_

"See ya later," Steve said, and loped off down the hall.

Bucky was a little surprised at the abrupt departure, but also relieved because he was about ready to collapse right now with his Jell-O legs.

"See you," Bucky replied, and had nothing else to do but close his door. Now he was in his new place, with all his shit safe and intact, and he was alone.

He sighed in relief.

So far, so good. Now he just had to unpack and wait on his furniture deliveries: a second hand couch, and a new bed.

  
  


The couch arrived that afternoon, so at least Bucky had something to sit on.

He had to run to the bodega across the street for essentials like food, coffee, milk, and toilet paper.

The company delivering his bed had given him a window of one PM to five PM. He hoped they would arrive sooner rather than later. Bucky hated waiting on deliveries, he just spent the whole time on pins and needles, checking the window to see if he could spot their van parking on the street.

When it got to four PM and still no sign of the bed or word from the company, Bucky started to get anxious. He tried to distract himself by unpacking slowly, and he had his laptop out on a box, playing a show on Netflix in the background.

Four-thirty arrived, and Bucky called the bed company.

They told him that they didn't have his bed down for delivery today, but for Saturday instead.

That was literally two whole days later than Bucky had arranged it for. He was livid, but there was nothing that could be done. It was nearly the end of the working day, and a couple nights on the couch wouldn't kill him.

At least he had the couch, otherwise he'd be on the floor.

Bucky just wanted all the moving drama to be over with by the time he went back to work on Monday. He was too old and grumpy for disruptions, he wanted all his shit back to normal so he could recharge.

  
  


Bucky didn't get all of the unpacking done: he made a blanket nest on his new-to-him couch and collapsed there.

He watched Netflix on his laptop, which was still perched on a box, while he gazed at his bare walls and pictured in his mind how he'd decorate his apartment.

If he wasn't generally so unorganised, he thought to himself, he could make a color scheme through the rooms with his accessories, but Bucky knew the likelihood was that the décor would end up in a mish-mash of many themes meeting in a clash of 'whatever' aesthetic.

That was okay, he liked the apartment and that was the main thing.

Time ticked by, and Bucky was still flopped out on the couch. His stomach rumbled from not being fed properly all day, and he figured he should probably eat another sandwich for his dinner.

Bucky was such a homebody and a private sort of person that he hadn't divulged his moving date to his friends or family because other people stressed him out and he preferred doing things in peace.

So when there was a knock on his door, Bucky was surprised and confused.

Unless it was the Super, Bucky wasn't sure who else even knew he'd moved in here, and the apartment had been empty for a few weeks before Bucky had moved in.

Weird.

He tossed off his blankets and stumbled over to the door, peering in the spyhole. Bucky's breath caught when he saw the nice neighbor from earlier standing outside.

Steve.

And, he was holding a large pizza box.

Bucky's empty stomach took over his faculties then, as he hurriedly unlocked the door and flung it open. "Steve, hey," he greeted, eyes flicking between Steve's handsome face and the box in his hands. The delicious aroma of hot pizza wafted up to Bucky's nose and he inhaled dreamily.

"Hey," Steve replied, and thrust the pizza box at him. "Here."

"Pizza? For me?" Bucky asked, but he took the box gratefully.

"Yup," Steve said, with a lopsided grin.

"Smells great," Bucky said, which probably gave away how hungry he was. As if in agreement, his stomach gurgled loudly. "Ahem. What's the occasion?"

"Well," Steve said, "I figured people would bake a pie or something for a new neighbor, but I don't cook, so pizza it is."

"Well, you're officially the best neighbor ever," Bucky said, meaning it. "Uh, did you want some too?"

It was polite to offer, right? Not that Bucky felt like sharing. Or, rather, not that Bucky felt like having a nice handsome neighbor watching him attack and devour an entire pizza like he really wanted to right now. Probably wouldn't be the best first impression.

Luckily Steve didn't seem bothered. "No, I ate," he said, and bent down to grab a couple boxes of sodas from the floor.

Or, a four pack of beers, and a pack of sodas, Bucky noticed.

Steve offered the sodas to Bucky. "I didn't know if you drank, or whatever. So it's soda and a plain cheese pizza. You know, in case you were one of those vegetarians or something."

Bucky took the sodas, feeling like he'd won the Lottery. "I'm not, but that's very considerate of you, Steve."

Steve chuckled lowly. "Yeah, I was pretty proud of myself. Anyway. If you need anything, I'm 6A."

"Sure," Bucky replied, as Steve left abruptly. "Uh, thanks," he called after him, watching Steve stalk off down the hall, beer under his arm.

Steve definitely had swagger, and his figure hugging jeans gave a great view of his ass.

Bucky watched until Steve disappeared into his apartment.

Well, he thought, looking down at his pizza and soda. That was a nice surprise. He was very glad to have a nice neighbor like Steve.

~ ~

  
  


Bucky spent a restless night on his couch, discovering how incredibly uncomfortable it was to sleep on.

Just his luck, he figured.

Thankfully he had Friday off too, which was a relief because he'd barely slept and now his neck had a kink in it.

First thing Bucky did early that morning was call the bed company again and beg them to deliver his bed that day.

Unfortunately, they said, all the delivery slots were taken.

Bucky had already paid for the stupid bed _and_ the delivery, so he was kind of stuck with waiting for it.

Just one more night, he thought, looking tiredly at the couch. And maybe search online for a different couch when he could afford it, too.

Bucky spent the day slowly unpacking and tidying up. He managed to have a nap too, because he was that tired. He woke up with some mild aches and pains in his back and neck, and cursed his choice of couch.

Then he unpacked a bit more, and finally his apartment was beginning to look something like home.

Aside from the gaping space in his bedroom where the bed should've been.

Bucky took a long hot bath in the tub, soaking out the kinks in his back. He tried not to think about another night on that fucking couch, and instead tried to count his blessings. He had his own place, and the neighbors seemed quiet on all sides so far.

Plus, a hot man lived down the hall.

A hot, straight man? Or a hot gay man? Bucky still couldn't decide. Steve was either a very fashionable and clean straight man... _or_ a really rugged gay man.

Maybe he was bi.

Bucky thought it over as he towelled dry. Perhaps he could do some investigating. He didn't have a whole lot else to do today.

He fixed his hair and tried to find some clean clothes among the general disarray of his wardrobe. He chose a flirty ensemble of denim cutoffs and a garishly bright tropical themed shirt, checking out his ass in the mirror.

The look said _gay_ to him, so hopefully it would broadcast his message loud and clear to anyone else. Now all he had to do was accidentally on purpose run into his hot neighbor, and feel him out.

Bucky gathered up some dirty clothes that needed cleaning, but only nice clothes. (He wanted to make a good impression.)

His final selection went into a laundry basket which he balanced on his hip for extra sass. Bucky grabbed his keys and was halfway out his door when he realised he'd forgotten to buy laundry detergent.

Why was he such a dumbass. Now he'd have to go back to the bodega. Or, he thought, having an epiphany, this was the perfect excuse to talk to Steve.

Bucky closed his apartment door and set off down the hall. It wouldn't seem obvious, would it? Steve _had_ said if he needed anything to knock on his door.

What if he was out somewhere? It was Friday, not the weekend yet.

Bucky reached Steve's door, eyeing it to see if he could tell if Steve was home or not. He couldn't hear anything, but that didn't mean to say Steve wasn't home.

Bucky's nerves got the better of him and he chickened out, walking briskly past Steve's door and to the elevator.

"Man," he sighed to himself, pressing the button for the elevator. Well, he'd tried. Now he had to commit to actually doing laundry, just in case Steve had somehow happened to look out his spyhole and see Bucky walk past with his laundry basket.

Bucky hated doing laundry.

He tapped his foot impatiently waiting for the elevator. It was taking its sweet time coming up, that was for sure. Bucky muttered under his breath a bit, annoyed with himself and generally everything.

Finally the elevator came up, pinging softly when it reached his floor. Bucky exhaled tiredly, waiting for the doors to open.

As luck would have it, the doors slid open to reveal Steve standing inside the elevator, holding a brown bag of groceries.

Bucky's eyes went wide with surprise. He wasn't prepared for a meeting _now;_ he was all slumpy and frustrated and probably had his resting bitch face firmly in place.

Steve looked great, but then it would've been hard for him not to. He wore a check shirt with a white top underneath, and figure hugging blue jeans. Very lumberjack chic.

He smiled when he saw Bucky. "Hey," he said easily, stepping out of the elevator. He put his hand on the door to hold it for Bucky. "Doing your laundry?"

Bucky did his best attempt at a friendly smile. "Yeah," he said, which was a dumb response and honestly Bucky should give up trying to flirt with anyone, period. "Um, do you know if there's any detergent down there? I forgot to buy some."

"I don't think there is," Steve said, "but I've got some. I'll bring it downstairs in a sec."

"Uh, okay," Bucky said, honestly surprised. "Thanks." He got in the elevator and Steve left, never one to linger apparently.

Bucky pressed the button for the basement, and inhaled to steady himself as the doors closed.

Well, he couldn't have timed it any better if he'd tried. Now he had a date (lol, well, sort of) with Steve in the laundry room.

If this was a rom com movie, Bucky thought, this would be where they fell in love and they would tell all their adopted children (or, cats, probably just cats) about their cute little story.

Bucky had to stop watching so many rom coms, real life just wasn't that cute and he'd only end up disappointed.

He got off in the basement, heading along to the laundry room. He'd only been in there once when he'd come to visit his apartment before signing on to rent. That'd been weeks ago.

Lucky for him it was empty, although there was one washer already going with a load on. That probably meant someone would come back for the clothes pretty soon.

Bucky set his basket down and picked a machine. He decided to go on the other side of the room to the machine currently spinning. He'd rather not sit next to anyone he didn't know, especially as he'd been a moron and left his phone in his apartment, so he had nothing to amuse himself with down here.

Bucky folded his arms and drummed his fingers, waiting on Steve. It wouldn't take him long to come back down. Bucky figured he should probably look busy, so he picked up one shirt and bent down to feed it into the machine, presenting his ass prettily to the room.

He glanced over his shoulder, but nobody was there yet. Bucky huffed, and picked out another shirt from the basket.

Now he heard footsteps approaching from down the hall so Bucky bent over, sticking his ass out as he shoved the shirt into the machine.

The other person entered the laundry room with an audible gasp. Bucky straightened up and looked round, mortified to see that it wasn't Steve at all, it was an older woman.

Bucky's cheeks burned with embarrassment almost immediately. The woman, now over her surprise at being greeted by his butt, was grinning openly at him. Bucky felt silly now. He smiled back politely and busied himself with his laundry, grabbing the whole load from the basket and shoving it in the machine. This time without bending over like he was in a softcore porn film.

"You new here, son?" the woman asked.

"Sure am," Bucky replied politely. I'm Bucky. How do you do?"

"I'm Doris," she replied. "And I'm on the second floor if you need anything."

"Aw, thanks," Bucky said, though he felt awkward and shy now. Doris seemed sweet, and apparently wasn't bothered about Bucky wearing ridiculous short shorts or anything.

Steve entered the laundry room then, much to Bucky's relief. He strolled in casually, plastic bag in hand.

"Hey," he greeted Bucky, then smiled at Doris. "Hey, Mrs. S," he said to her. "How's it going?"

Doris chuckled away like he'd said something hilarious. "Now, Steve," she chided, "I've told you to call me Doris."

"Right you are, Mrs. S." Steve bantered back, setting his bag down.

Bucky watched him curiously. Steve's bag was crammed full of clothes. Had he come to do laundry too?

"Here." Steve offered something to Bucky: one of those laundry pods.

"Oh, sweet." Bucky took it gratefully. "Thanks for that."

"No sweat," Steve said with a grin.

He had a nice smile, Bucky thought.

Steve started loading up a machine for himself, as Doris's machine ended and she unloaded her clothes.

"You boys have a nice day now," she said, leaving the room.

"You too, Mrs. S," Steve replied cheerily.

Bucky wondered if he was nice to all the neighbors, not just him. Which was a bit like a bucket of cold water spilling over him right now.

"You got change?" Steve asked him, feeding money into his machine.

"I got some," Bucky said, forgetting all about it until now. He dug his hand into his pocket and had to wriggle and fish out the coins.

Steve watched him struggle, that cute lopsided grin appearing on his face. "You sure about that?" he teased.

"I definitely have money in here," Bucky chuckled, mostly from nerves. "Bit tight, that's all."

Steve didn't reply, his eyes flicking down to fix on Bucky's lower body, that grin still on his face.

And just like that, Bucky's Gaydar pinged as he realised Steve was checking him out. _Success_ , he thought. Good job, short shorts.

He gave an extra wriggle for Steve's benefit as he got his money out. "Here," he said triumphantly, smiling at Steve. "Now I'm all set."

"Great," Steve said, as they both started their machines. "Hey, can you watch mine for me? I gotta call my partner back, it's important."

"Oh, sure," Bucky agreed, though he was a bit disappointed to hear the word partner. Of course Steve was taken, he was such a catch.

"Cool, thanks." Steve smiled as he got his phone out, exiting the laundry room in a hurry.

So now Bucky was all alone in the basement, with no phone, watching his and Steve's laundry.

Great work, Bucky, he thought.

  
  


Steve's phone call lasted a long time, almost the entire fast wash cycle to be exact.

He came back in the laundry room as Bucky was loading both their wet clothes into the dryers.

"Hey, thanks, man," Steve told him, coming over to help. "I appreciate it."

"No problem," Bucky replied. He owed Steve anyway for all that help with moving yesterday. "Everything okay?"

"Oh, sure," Steve said easily. "Just a thing with our suppliers. Happens sometimes."

Suppliers? Sounded like a work thing, not a romantic thing.

"So that was your business partner?" Bucky asked, leaning a hand on the dryer in an attempt to look cool and relaxed.

"Yeah." Steve grinned. "Supposed to be my week off but, hey. Always something going wrong, right?"

Bucky smiled back at him. "Sounds about right."

They got the dryers going and sat together on the bench, with Bucky fidgeting a little because he was nervous (excited nervous).

"What do you do?" he asked.

"We run a security firm," Steve told him. "It was kind of a cheat, because we inherited the business from Sam's father. Sam's my business partner. But it was too good an opportunity to pass up, you know?"

"Hmmm," Bucky hummed with interest. "Yeah, for sure." And that explained why Steve was all buff and muscly then. Probably security jobs and gym memberships went hand in hand.

"And yourself?" Steve asked. "What do you do?"

"Uh, nothing much." Bucky waved his hand. "I work for a business consultant. My boss is a huge bitch but so am I, so we get on great. Come Monday I'll be back in the office. I'm sure she missed me, she hates everyone else in the office and isn't afraid to tell them."

Steve chuckled. "Sounds intense."

"Nah, I've worked in way worse places," Bucky said. "At least the pay is good and I can sit on my ass most of the day."

Steve's eyes travelled down to Bucky's shorts again. Bucky noticed that, and he crossed his legs elegantly for Steve's benefit.

"You lived in the city long?" Steve asked, seemingly out of the blue.

"Since I was ten. How about you?"

"I was born here," Steve replied. "Where did you move from?

"Indiana," Bucky said. "But the whole family lives here now. Well, like, more out of town. I've been gradually moving closer and closer to the city. Brooklyn was always top of my list to move to."

"Speaking of moving," Steve said, "you all moved in okay? Got everything sorted out?"

"Yeah," Bucky fibbed. "Just a couple more things to come."

Like his stupid bed.

"Great, great," Steve replied. "You'll like the building, it's one of the better ones I've lived in. And if you need anything, just knock, okay? It's no trouble."

Bucky barely had the chance to say thank you when Steve's phone went off. Steve sighed dramatically. "Sorry, I better take this," he said, before leaving the room again.

Oh, well, Bucky thought. Hopefully they could continue their small talk next time.

He twiddled his thumbs as he waited for the clothes to dry.

  
  


Though Steve did come back before the laundry was finished, they didn't have all that long to chat before they had to take their clothes out and head back upstairs.

That was fine, really. Even a short time chatting (flirting, ahem) with Steve was exciting, and Bucky didn't want to come on too strong to his neighbor right away. He should play it cool, he thought.

They chatted as they took their laundry back upstairs in the elevator, just friendly small talk. Steve was nice, that was plain to see. He smiled at Bucky and said goodbye when he headed into his apartment.

"Just knock if you need anything," Steve said, that now familiar lopsided grin on his face.

Bucky tried not to stare after him too much when Steve disappeared behind his door.

He had laundry to put away now, so he had to go take care of that. Bucky let himself back in his own apartment and started hanging up his clothes.

When he was done, he wished he had a bed to go lie down on and nap. He looked at his couch instead, glaring at it.

Who knew a couch could be so uncomfortable to sleep on?

One more night, he told himself. Just one more night.

Bucky set up his nest on the couch again, with Netflix on his laptop. He shifted around to get comfortable, feeling restless and replaying the conversations he'd had with Steve earlier, and all Steve's flirty smiles and glances.

He'd definitely seemed interested, Bucky thought.

_Just knock if you need anything_.

Bucky wondered what Steve was doing right now.

If Bucky looked anything like Steve, with those big arms and a broad chest, he'd probably spend a lot of time naked in front of his mirror, simply posing.

Bucky thought about that mental image of Steve posing and sighed wistfully.

_Just knock if you need anything._

"I need lots of things," Bucky murmured to himself, thinking about Steve. "Most of which involves a hot man."

Too bad it was just him and Netflix tonight.

And his uncomfortable couch, too.

  
  


Bucky made it halfway through his movie when he decided, fuck the couch, and fuck Netflix too. He'd much rather fuck his hot neighbor.

Or, see what his chances were of having his hot neighbor fuck him.

Only one thing for it. Bucky would have to go fishing again. So he removed himself from his couch nest, threw off his pyjamas and got changed into clean clothes. Just something casual so he wasn't coming on too strong: a pair of jeans and a faded t-shirt he'd gotten from Pride one year that said _Over The Rainbow_.

Then he picked up the unopened pack of sodas that he'd been gifted by Steve.

Keys in his pocket, Bucky left his apartment and closed the door behind him, feeling excited and confident.

But as he walked along to door 6A, Bucky felt his courage ebb away with each step. What the hell was he doing? He couldn't show up at his neighbor's door looking for a hook up. It was so wildly impulsive.

What if Steve told him to get lost? It'd make passing each other in the hallways extremely embarrassing. Bucky would probably have to move out due to embarrassment and he hadn't even been here a week.

He reached door 6A and hovered for a moment. This is a bad idea, he told himself, and turned to leave.

But... he didn't want to sleep on the couch again, _and_ he was curious about Steve anyway.

_Knock if you need anything._

Bucky turned back to the door. What was the harm in testing the waters? If Steve wasn't interested, Bucky could just go. (And move, and change his name, go into Witness Protection.)

He raised his hand to knock, hesitated, and had another internal debate. There was light under the door inside the apartment, and sounds from what was presumably the TV.

So Steve had to be in. Enjoying a quiet Friday night.

Maybe he should leave, Bucky thought, and lowered his hand.

Then the door opened, surprising him.

Steve stood there, in figure hugging jeans and a white undershirt, bulging biceps and thick shoulders all on display. He had a beer bottle in hand, and he smiled wolfishly at Bucky.

"Hey," he said. "C'mon in."

Bucky did as he was told in a daze, feeling totally unprepared. He glanced around at the apartment as Steve closed the door after him. It was tidier than he'd expected for a single guy, though there were a few clothes and boots scattered about the entryway.

Bucky gestured at the sodas he'd brought. "I, um, I don't really drink soda," he fibbed, "so I thought maybe you'd want them back?"

"Okay," Steve said casually, taking a swig of his beer. "Put them down anywhere and come sit." He loped off to the lounge area, and Bucky followed after him.

Steve's couch was very comfortable, Bucky noted when they sat down.

Maybe he should ask if he could sleep on the couch.

Steve had an enormous flatscreen TV too, and was watching one of those Fast and Furious movies.

"Nice screen," Bucky said, making conversation. "That must've cost some."

"Nah, got a deal off my buddy," Steve said, eyes on the TV. "If you want me to hook you up with one, just ask." He seemed relaxed, leaning back on the couch and man-spreading with his legs.

Bucky tried not to glance at his crotch area to check him out, but it was like Steve was inviting him to look.

Steve took another swig of beer, and smacked his lips. "Everythiny okay in your apartment?"

"Yeah," Bucky said, which was mostly true. "I do have one more delivery tomorrow, and I'm all set."

"So this is a social visit?" Steve asked. "Aside from giving me back the soda?"

"Uh, yeah," Bucky said, and cleared his throat. "I, um, I also wanted to say thanks for your help, too. With the moving and the laundry and all."

"No sweat, kid."

"I'm not a kid." Bucky laughed. "We're probably the same age."

Steve looked over at him and very obviously looked Bucky up and down. "You don't look that old," he said with a sly grin.

"I'm thirty-one," Bucky said.

"I'm thirty-five," Steve replied.

"Oh. Well, more or less the same."

Steve raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm still older."

"Four years isn't a stretch," Bucky insisted. "It's practically the same age."

"Alright," Steve said. "Your Grindr profile said you were twenty-six."

"Fuck," Bucky said, wincing. Yeah, he'd shaved some years off his age on Grindr.

Then it sank in what Steve had said.

"Wait, what?" Bucky stared at him. "You're on Grindr?"

Steve gave him that lopsided grin again. "I am. I checked it yesterday to see if you were on there."

"Oh." Bucky felt himself flushing. "Well, I... look, everyone lies about their age on dating apps, okay?"

Steve laughed a deep rumbly laugh. "I don't care about that."

"Oh," Bucky said. "Alright."

"So, uh..." Steve cleared his throat. "Your profile said you like bottoming?"

Bucky nodded, hardly believing his luck. "Yes. Yes, I do. Very much."

"Alright," Steve said. "Wanna have sex?"

"Yes," Bucky answered eagerly.

  
  


Steve's bed was big, and _extremely_ comfortable.

Bucky was naked and flat on his back in no time. Steve spent a half hour alone rimming Bucky's hole, teasing him with his tongue and his fingers, making Bucky come twice before Steve even got undressed himself.

Then he rolled a condom on his fat cock and fucked Bucky good and hard, just the right amount of rough that had Bucky coming again like a freight train, and then Steve slammed into Bucky one last time and came too.

Afterwards they lay side by side, sweaty and panting.

"Hey," Steve husked out, "I know you live down the hall, but you can stay the night if you want."

Bucky smiled at that. "Great. Because I don't think my legs would work right now anyway."

Steve rumbled out a laugh. "So, stay the night, and I'll fuck you again later."

"Mmm," Bucky purred. "Thank you, I will."

  
  


~ ~

  
  


Saturday morning came (and after a round of lazy morning sex Bucky came too), then he really had to get back to his apartment to wait in on his delivery.

Steve did offer to make him breakfast, but it was nearing midday already and Bucky was anxious about the bed arriving early.

Plus, he'd left his phone in his apartment because he was an idiot.

He got dressed, and Steve made coffee for them both. It felt nice. Nicer than Bucky had expected for a hook up.

"Thank you," he said, a little too shy to meet Steve's eyes over the mug of coffee. He guzzled it all down, which made Steve smile.

"What's the delivery?" Steve asked.

"Um, some furniture," Bucky said vaguely, and gestured to the door. "I'd better go. See you later?"

Steve smiled. "See you later, kid," he quipped.

Bucky laughed, and left Steve lounging on his couch watching a racing program. He headed back to his apartment, and checked his phone for messages.

He had one automated message from the bed company, saying his bed would be arriving that afternoon.

Thank God. Like, seriously.

Bucky settled onto his couch, prepared to wait. He meant to open his laptop to put something on, but ended up staring into the middle distance, daydreaming about last night.

Bucky was still daydreaming and smiling to himself when his phone rang to say his bed was finally here.

He buzzed the delivery men in, and they brought the bed upstairs.

Finally, finally, finally. Bucky was just thankful to have it in his apartment. The delivery guys assembled the bed, then left. Bucky got to work putting on new bedsheets and arranging his pillows how he wanted.

Then he threw himself on the bed and spread his limbs out in a starfish.

"At last," he muttered to himself. He closed his eyes and ended up falling asleep, tired from his workout last night.

When Bucky woke up it was late into the afternoon. He yawned, and dragged himself to the bathroom.

He had a quick shower to wake himself up, then got out and towelled his hair dry. He'd only just put on his bathrobe when he heard what sounded like a knock on his door.

Bucky walked through his apartment, ears on stalks to hear.

Another rap on the door, and Bucky peered through the spy hole. It was Steve, and he was holding a pizza box.

Bucky felt a shot of panic because he wasn't dressed, then he realised it hardly mattered as they'd seen each other naked already.

He opened the door and smiled. "Steve. Hi."

"Hey," Steve said, immediately offering out the pizza box. "Thought you might be hungry."

Bucky grinned. "I am, actually. You wanna come in?"

Steve smiled back with that lopsided grin. "Sure."

Bucky stood aside to let him in, then closed the door. He set the pizza box aside, biting his lip a little. "Actually," he said, playing with his robe to open it a little, acting all flirty, "there is something I could use your help with..."

"Oh, yeah?" Steve stood to attention, like he was ready to do whatever it was Bucky asked. "What is it?"

"My new bed," Bucky said with a smile. "I need a big strong man to test it out with me."

Steve returned his smile. "Then I'm your man."

  
  


  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Steve later, looking at the shelf in Bucky's lounge, "Is that a Barbie and a Ken?"
> 
> Bucky, going pink in the face, "Omigod, I meant to put them away..."
> 
> Steve, shrugging casually, "No, they're cool. They're pop culture, right? In fact, I still have the Barbie Girl single on CD somewhere."
> 
> Bucky, going heart-eyes: "Ahhh! I loved that song!"
> 
> (Both of them annoying all the other neighbors later, playing Barbie Girl loudly and dancing about the apartment.)
> 
> ~ ~ ~
> 
> Thank you for reading i hope you enjoyed this piece of fun nonsense!!!!


End file.
